ST. BONAVENTURE (0-2-0) at CANISIUS (0-2-0)
Thursday, Aug. 29 – 6:00 p.m.
Buffalo, N.Y. – Demske Sports Complex
TV: ESPN+

The St. Bonaventure University men's soccer team resumes play Thursday, Aug. 29 when it travels to Little Three rival Canisius. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. in Buffalo.

LAST GAME LOOK BACK
The Bonnies dropped a close matchup on the road at Cleveland State Sunday afternoon, falling 1-0 to the Vikings. The hosts scored 4:21 into the game and made the lead stick.

Senior Umechi Akuazaoku paced the Bonnies offensively with three shots, including one shot on goal while freshman Neshawn Sutherland registered two shots on net.

Bo Drath, Andres Javitt, Luc Finelli, Dean Mercer and Daniel Helle also tallied a shot on goal for the Brown and White.

In net, Nicolas Pucci made five saves after allowing the early goal, holding the Vikings to just the one score.

Leonardo Witt Fragoso made his St. Bonaventure debut, playing 40 minutes off the bench.

LAST FOUR
The Bonnies are 2-0-2 in their last four meetings with the Golden Griffins. Bona's shut out Canisius last season on home turf, 4-0, behind scores from Akuazaoku, Javitt, Helle and Kenzo Brito.

The Brown and White also shut out the Golden Griffins during the 2019 season, 3-0, at the Marra Athletics Complex.

The two teams last met in Buffalo was during the 2022 season, ending in a 1-1 draw.

LITTLE THREE TIES
Bonnies head coach Kwame Oduro has ties with every Little Three program. Prior to coming to St. Bonaventure, Oduro spent four seasons as an assistant coach for Canisius from 2011-14. During his time there under head coach Dermot McGrane, Oduro helped turn around the fortunes of the Canisius program. In the 2014 season, the Golden Griffins set a school record for wins in a season with nine, including eight shutouts.

Oduro was also a standout player at Niagara from 2004-06, helping Niagara earn back-to-back MAAC Tournament bids for the first time in the program's history during his junior and senior campaigns.

CANISIUS NOTES
The Golden Griffins enter Thursday's contest 0-2-0 overall, falling to Le Moyne (3-2) and Duquesne (3-1) to begin the season. Canisius was picked to finish 13^th in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll following a 2-11-5 2023 campaign.

Junior forward Mesafint Ellingson leads the Golden Griffins with three points on a goal and an assist. Junior midfielder Kyle Pollard and graduate forward Luke Szablewski also have netted scores for Canisius this season while senior forward Ely Sidibe has tallied an assist.

UP NEXT
The Bonnies remain on the road, traveling to take on 2023 Big Ten Tournament runner-up Penn State Monday, Sept. 2. Kickoff is slated for 5:00 p.m.

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